PORTLAND – Sure, No. 4 seed South Medford got the result it needed Thursday by defeating No. 5 Sherwood 62-49 in the quarterfinals of the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A girls basketball tournament at the Chiles Center.
But the senior-led Panthers, pursuing their second title in three seasons, were left unsatisfied by their performance in light of the challenge that awaits them Friday in the semifinals against No. 1 Tualatin, the reigning champion.
“It was definitely a little rough, a little patchy, lots of ups and downs,” senior post Mayen Akpan said. “But it's our first game, so we're going to take the win right now, and grow from there.”
Coach Tom Cole said “it's better to have an ugly win than a pretty loss,” but was less than thrilled with how the Panthers struggled to shake the Bowmen (24-4).
“I thought we had some uncharacteristic bad play,” Cole said. “I thought we were sloppy defensively, and I thought we missed a lot of what I would call easier shots. When you do that up here, it creates an opportunity for another team to capitalize on that.”
The 6-foot-3 Akpan controlled the interior – piling up 22 points, 16 rebounds and four steals – and senior guard Malia Taulani added 18 points as the Panthers (25-2) never trailed in extending their winning streak to 20. They will go for their third finals berth in four seasons against Tualatin, which beat them 47-37 in the quarterfinals last year.
As they waited to take the floor Thursday, the Panthers watched some of Tualatin's 77-42 quarterfinal win over West Salem.
“What I saw of Tualatin, they were much more in sync today,” Cole said. “We all know they've been the favorite since this season started. They're the defending state champs, and they've been No. 1 consensus since November. We all know how good Tualatin is. We hope we can bring some level of play to match it tomorrow.”
The Panthers know they must crank up their game to have a chance.
“I feel like tomorrow will be a whole different game in so many different parts,” Taulani said. “I feel like tomorrow we'll all have the same mentality. We just need to come out harder, more aggressive, more focused throughout the entire game.”
Against Sherwood, South Medford scored the game's first six points on layups from Taulani, junior Payton Andersen and senior Jordan Barlow and pushed the lead to 13-3 on back-to-back baskets by Akpan.
The Panthers appeared ready to dominate, but Sherwood, making its first appearance in the final eight since the 5A tournament in 2014, refused to back down. The Bowmen still were within 33-24 at half and cut the gap to 33-28 by scoring the first four points of the third quarter.
South Medford responded with an 8-0 run to make it 41-28. Sophomore Citrine Imperial Viray hit a three-pointer in the run, which Taulani capped with a layup off a feed from Howell.
“We had some parts today where we kind of broke down, but I feel like we were able to pick it back up, come together and remind ourselves what we're here to do,” Taulani said.
Sherwood didn't have an answer for the powerful Akpan. The San Diego State commit got deep position and bulled her way inside, shooting 8 of 16 from the field and 6 of 11 on free throws. The 16 rebounds puts her on pace to threaten the tournament record of 51 that she set two years ago.
“She's usually the biggest player on the court, so having her, it opens up a lot of different things,” Taulani said. “When she's able to get the ball, usually teams try to double-team her, so it opens up things outside for all of us to shoot it. Cuts are open. Also, with her size and how strong she is, she's able to just pound it and go up.”
Alpan, who averages 14.0 points and 10.8 rebounds, was sidelined for five weeks after suffering a concussion Jan. 8 at Sheldon. She has played eight games since returning to the lineup.
“I'm getting back in my flow,” Akpan said. “I'm trying to pick up a little bit on both sides of the court, for sure. But missing five weeks definitely took a little toll on me, not just physically, but definitely mentally. I felt like I was missing out, not just on playing, but moments with my team. So I'm really glad to be back.”
Sherwood freshman point guard Zoe Sanders scored a team-high 14 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tenley Bozeman, a 6-2 senior forward, had 11 points and five rebounds and freshman forward Audrey Poulivaati added nine points, three assists and three steals.
Sherwood coach Matt Sanders liked how his players competed against veteran South Medford.
“That's a senior-led team, and we start two freshmen and have a freshman coming off the bench,” he said. “So I knew it was a tall task. This was a really good barometer check for us. The girls showed that they can play with anybody.”
He tipped his cap to the Panthers.
“They're about as strong and disciplined as it gets,” he said. “Defensively, they just don't make a lot of mistakes. That's the best team we've faced all year.”
No. 1 Tualatin 77, No. 9 West Salem 42: Sophomore point guard Love Lei Best scored 27 points in 22 minutes to lead the Timberwolves (26-1) to the running-clock victory over the Titans (17-11).
Best shot 9 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range, and had four assists and two steals. Senior guard Maaya Lucas had 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals and sophomore forward Kendall Dawkins added 11 points and seven rebounds for Tualatin.
The Timberwolves shot 55 percent (30 for 55). They had a 35-14 advantage in rebounds and forced 25 turnovers, committing 13.
West Salem senior wing Johanna Diaz scored a team-high 17 points, making all five of her three-point attempts. Sophomore guard Lily Griffin made three three-pointers and finished with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Portland State-bound senior guard Emma Zuniga, the Central Valley Conference player of the year, scored five points.
Tualatin used an 18-0 burst to open a 25-6 lead in the first quarter. Best hit two three-pointers and Lucas had a triple in a 9-0 run that made it 46-14 in the second quarter.
No. 3 Benson 70, No. 11 Oregon City 52: Sophomore post Jayla Lackey made 10 of 17 shots and finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Astros (25-2) past the Pioneers (18-9).
Benson owned a 45-16 advantage in rebounds. The Astros collected 24 offensive rebounds – 15 by Lackey – and had 23 second-chance points.
Senior forward Samarah Massey had 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals and sophomore guard Koko Solis-Beasley added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists for Benson. The Astros, runners-up in 2024, will face No. 2 West Linn in the semifinals Friday.
The Pioneers, playing their first state-tournament game since 2017, shook off a 6-0 deficit to lead 16-15 after one quarter. They traded baskets with the Astros through the second quarter and went into halftime tied 30-30.
But Benson scored the first five points of the third quarter – a Lackey three-point play and a Solis-Beasley jumper – and led the rest of the way. The Astros were up 51-41 after three quarters and kept their edge at double digits through the fourth quarter.
Oregon City junior guard Livie Carns made three three-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points, five assists and four steals. Senior guard Reese Weygandt had 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.
No. 2 West Linn 56, No. 10 Nelson 36: The Lions (24-3) advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2018 by cruising past the Hawks (21-7).
Junior guard Kaylor Buse had 18 points, five rebounds and four steals, senior Ayla Arnold scored 15 points and Washington State-bound senior guard Reese Jordan added 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals for West Linn.
The Lions rebounded from a 7-0 deficit to take an 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter on a buzzer-beating jumper by sophomore Brie Balensifer. Arnold made four free throws to make it 15-10, and when Buse hit two free throws with 1:26 left in the half, West Linn was up 27-15.
Jordan and senior Sophie Maxwell made layups to start the third quarter, giving the Lions a 31-16 edge. Nelson reeled off the next nine points to draw within 31-25, but West Linn regained control and led 41-30 after three quarters.
Baskets by Buse and Jordan extended the lead to 45-30, and West Linn closed out the win.
Nelson, making its first state-tournament appearance, got 15 points from senior Simone Sideris. Junior post Love Forde had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 28.6 percent from the field, including 1 for 12 on three-pointers.
jerryu@osaa.org
Subscribe
